


Azkaban Dreams

by lilyseyes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-10
Updated: 2013-02-10
Packaged: 2017-11-28 19:56:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/678303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilyseyes/pseuds/lilyseyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Sirius had gone with Hagrid that night in Godric's Hollow, instead of going after Pettigrew?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Azkaban Dreams

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the first HP story's I ever wrote, circa 2003.

Sirius Black awoke slowly, warmth seeping through him, sunlight bright on his closed eyelids. His handsome face erupted into a huge smile and his laughing gray eyes flew open. Today was Harry’s eleventh birthday! Glancing at the shaft of sunlight filtering through his bedroom curtains, and the absence of noise from the bedroom next door, Sirius knew it was still early, and his godson still asleep. 

Throwing back the covers, Sirius leapt out of bed silently, a tall man with short black hair, and dressed without a sound. Unable to resist, he tiptoed over and peeked into Harry’s bedroom. The small unmoving form in the bed and the pile of unopened presents at the foot, assured Sirius that the boy was still asleep.

Grinning, he made his way down to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. He laid things out on the kitchen table, and took a cup of coffee back up to Harry’s bedroom. Seating himself comfortably in the chair beside the bed, he sat waiting. As he watched, Harry stirred, a mop of untidy black hair emerging from the covers. His godson had grown to look just like his father, James. As Harry opened his eyes and blinked at Sirius, the brilliant green eyes of his mother Lily looked at him curiously. 

“Sirius?” Harry sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Sirius reached over and plucked the glasses off the bedside table, handing them to Harry. 

“Happy birthday, son!” 

Harry spotted the pile of gifts at the end of his bed and bounced with glee. “Presents! Can I open them, please?”

“Of course you can!”

Harry Potter tore into the pile of presents, muttering thanks for each gift of clothes, books, and his favorite sweets. Gasping as he opened the last one, a brand new Nimbus 2000 broomstick.

Harry threw himself out if bed and launched into Sirius’ arms. “Oh thank you, Sirius! Thank you!”

Sirius laughed and hugged him back, holding the boy on his lap. 

“Can we go out and try it right now?”

“Not this morning, mate, breakfast is waiting downstairs, and then, I think, we will have a couple of things that we will need to take care of today.”

Harry nodded, trying not to look disappointed. “Is Uncle Remus coming tonight for dinner?”

“Depends on what that godfather of yours is serving for dinner, Harry!” 

Harry squealed and scooting off Sirius’ lap, ran to the door. Remus Lupin, looking pale but well, stood in the doorway and caught the boy up in a hug. He met Sirius’ eyes with a smile.

“Alright, Remus?”

“Yeah, never better, Padfoot, that Wolfsbane is working well. And I couldn’t miss our boy’s birthday, could I?” 

Sirius grinned at his oldest and best friend. “No, Moony, you surely could not do that.”

Remus set Harry down and pulled a small wrapped package from his robe pocket. "Here, Harry, this is for you. Happy birthday!”

Harry opened the package to find a broom compass for his new Nimbus. “Thank you, Uncle Remus!” After another hug, he ran back to the bed to attach it to his broom.

“Everything set for tonight, Moony?”

Remus looked from Harry back to Sirius. “Yeah, everything is set. We’ll have a meeting after dinner tonight.”

“Who’s coming to dinner?” Harry vaguely, his attention still on the broomstick.

“Well, Hagrid, of course, like always, and maybe even…”

Sirius was interrupted by a large handsome tawny owl that soared in the open bedroom window and landed on the bed beside Harry, a heavy yellow parchment envelope in its beak. Harry looked at the bird and then at the two men in the room. 

“Well, take it, Harry!” Sirius said with a laugh. “Looks like it must be for you.”

Harry took the envelope from the owl and turned it over in his hands. The front was addressed in emerald green ink:

**Mr. H. Potter  
Upstairs Bedroom  
The Black Country Manor**

Harry looked up at his godfather and guardian, his brilliant green eyes questioning, the lightening bolt scar the marked his forehead clearly visible through the fringe of black hair in the morning light.

“Open it, Harry.” Sirius prompted with a smile.

Turning it over, Harry saw the Hogwarts seal on the back of the envelope. “It’s my letter, Sirius, it’s my letter!”

Harry ripped open the thick envelope, pulling out two folded pieces of parchment. As he read, the owl hopped around on the bed, clearly anxious for a response.

“It says I have to write and tell Professor McGonagall if I want to come to school.” Harry told them as he read.

Remus and Sirius smiled at each other, the boy’s excitement contagious. 

“Then get a piece of parchment off your desk, Harry, the owl will wait.”

Harry jumped off the bed to his desk, took a fresh piece of parchment, dipped his quill in the ink well, and began to write a response, his tongue caught between his teeth.

“Does this sound okay? ‘Dear Professor McGonagall, Thank you for your letter. I am very happy to be invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I will be on the Hogwarts Express on 1 September. Thank you, Harry Potter.’”

“Sounds perfect, mate, now, let’s tie it to the owl.” Sirius helped Harry and the owl soared back out the window.

“Now, young man, if you expect to go up to London this afternoon, and get all of your school things from Diagon Alley, you had best get dressed!”

Harry raced to his drawers and began to dress. Breakfast was a hurried affair and in no time at all, the three were standing in the kitchen of the Black family home at number 12 Grimmauld Place in London. This house was the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, to which both Sirius Black and Remus Lupin belonged. It, like the house in the country where Harry and Sirius spent most of their time, were protected by powerful magic and ancient charms, all designed to protect the boy from the followers of the vanquished Lord Voldemort.

Placing his godson under a Disillusionment Charm, Sirius fired up his magical motorcycle, loaded Harry on back, and took off for Diagon Alley. Passing through the Leaky Cauldron, they ran into Rubeus Hagrid, another member of the Order, and Groundskeeper at Hogwarts.

“Sirius! And happy birthday, Harry!” Hagrid greeted them in his booming voice, swinging Harry up for a hug.

“Are you coming for dinner, Hagrid?” Harry asked excitedly.

“Well, yes, I believe I am.” Hagrid told him, his black eyes twinkling.

“I got my letter, Hagrid, and now we are going shopping for stuff!” Harry fairly danced with excitement.

“Maybe Hagrid would like to tag along with us.” Sirius said with a smile, as he lead Harry to the wall behind the Leaky Cauldron and tapped on the bricks.

It was a delightful afternoon for Harry, starting with a trip into Gringotts Wizarding Bank with Hagrid to get money out of his own vault. Sirius waiting indulgently in the lobby of the bank for them to return, planning a wonderful evening in his head. They went down to Flourish & Bott’s for Harry’s schoolbooks, the Apothecary for his scales and potions ingredients, purchased his cauldron as well as quills, ink, and parchment. 

In Madam Malkin’s Robes for All Occasions, Harry ran into a blonde boy about his age, who was being fitted for robes as well, with a pale face and whom he did not really like very much. Sirius then took him to Ollivander’s Maker of Fine Wands, where Mr. Ollivander seemed to have been waiting for Harry. Calling him by name, Mr. Ollivander had Harry try out many wands before he found his own, holly eleven inches, supple with a single Phoenix Feather core. Sirius gave a bark of laughter when Mr. Ollivander held out his hand toward him, so that he could check Sirius’s wand too.

They were having ice cream sundaes at Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlor when Hagrid handed Harry his birthday present, a beautiful snowy-white female owl. 

“Oh Hagrid! Thank you so much, I love her!” Harry said in an awed voice, reaching a finger into the cage to tentatively pet a white tail feather. 

Hagrid beamed, his face tinged red with pleasure, as Harry hugged him around the waist. “Ye must pick a good name for her, Harry, alright?”

“Yes, sir, I will!”

Sirius packed everything onto the motorcycle, had Harry hold the owl and cage, and after placing him under the Disillusionment Charm again, they went back to the Black London residence on Grimmauld Place. Harry loved riding the motorcycle with Sirius and laughed as they sped down the street, his eyes gleaming and, Sirius was sure, cheeks pink.

Sirius escorted Harry back into the house, removed the charm, and then led the way down to the basement kitchen. He could see that Remus had been busy, and that the room was decorated in balloons and streamers, a huge banner across the fireplace read: “Happy 11th Birthday, Harry!” The table was almost completely covered by food, the centerpiece of which was a huge birthday cake, chocolate icing with bright green letters that spelled out “Happy Birthday, Harry”. A group of people milled around the far end of the room, talking and laughing.

Sirius could tell when Harry caught sight of the decorations, hearing his gasp of breath. He stopped on the landing, staring around him, trying to take it all in. 

“Wow!” Harry breathed, as Remus took the owl from him and set her aside.

Running over to his godfather, Harry launched himself up in Sirius’ arms, hugging him with all his might. “Thank you so much, Sirius! This is the best birthday ever!”

* * *

The rattling breath of a guard at his cell door brought hard cold reality of Azkaban back to Sirius Black, the pull of the dementor as it tried to extract the happiness of his dream out of him. Sirius scuttled back into the far corner of his cell, the dark filthy place where he was out of sight of the door. There was a makeshift calendar the he had made hanging on the wall, and checking it, Sirius saw that he was right, it was 31 July 1991, his godson’s 11th birthday.

“Happy Birthday, Harry.” He whispered into the darkness.


End file.
